Sports 'N' Such Column: Pro Bowl memories

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Siskiyou Daily News, Yreka, CA

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Posted Jan. 8, 2013 at 10:42 AM
Updated Jan 8, 2013 at 10:47 AM

Posted Jan. 8, 2013 at 10:42 AM
Updated Jan 8, 2013 at 10:47 AM

Since I was little I have loved watching NFL football games. It all started with my Uncle Steven, my Aunt Suzy's husband, who was the biggest fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Steel Curtain teams of the 1970s. There are a number of photos of me as a little kid smiling as I wore the Steelers clothing given by my uncle.

I was born and raised in Hawaii, which has no professional football team to speak of so folks interest in teams can vary wildly. I knew kids that loved everything from the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers to the Detroit Lions. Many times it boiled down to where a kid's family was from, or having a family member that just fell in love with a particular team while watching TV like my Uncle Steven.

Now, that brings me to my dad. Dad was never the biggest sports fan when I growing up. It wasn't like he disliked watching sports, there was just a bit of indifference. My father is more of a gearhead and was much more interested in automobiles and working on his car. Growing up I remember that my dad had stacks of kit car magazines and could talk for hours about working on vehicles. But I will admit I had little to no interest in that. Despite this my dad was quite supportive of me and took me to a lot of sporting events growing up.

I remember watching football on Saturday mornings and, of course, the NFL on Sundays. While I was never a football player, soccer was my sport, there was just something about the sport that made me a fan. I never had a favorite team, I just recall loving particular players.This included watching Dan Fouts throwing the deep ball for the Chargers or Steve Largent catching passes for the Seahawks, or the Redskins John Riggins or the Rams Eric Dickerson running the with the football.

While there was no pro football team, Hawaii did have one great advantage for football fans, the Pro Bowl. Each year when I was a kid, starting at around seven and as a teenager I would got to the Pro Bowl games at Aloha Stadium, about a 30-minute drive from my home.

I recall my dad would park around a mile of so from the stadium in a residential area to save on parking cost and we would make our way to the stadium. During the time that it took to reach the stadium I would talk my dad's ear off about players I was looking forward to seeing playing or an exciting catch or run I saw them make on TV. My dad would just smile and nod.

I think he was most excited with the burgers and soft drinks that he bought us more than the game itself. But each year he would go with me.

Page 2 of 2 - Years later he told me what great memories those games were. Not so much the games but my reaction of seeing my favorite players in action. And, for me, that's what made those games so special to me to this day

In high school, my school was near the University of Hawaii Manoa, where the Pro Bowl teams would practice. One year, me and my friend Jeremiah headed to the practice field to see if we could get a glance of the players. As we walked towards the field I saw a football player that looked a bit familiar to me coming in our direction.

For some stupid reason I was expecting someone huge, and while certainly not a small person by any stretch I thought it might me one of the players from UH. When my friend asked me if I thought that was a Pro Bowl player, I loudly replied, "Nah, that guy is probably a college player or something. He's not that big."

I was in earshot and the player just gave me a wide, bemused grin and chuckled when he walked by me. I later found out that the man I was talking about was an NFL great, linebacker Junior Seau. I was quite saddened to hear about his death last year

Another time, me and Jeremiah saw three Falcons players, Deion Sanders, Andre Rison and Chris Miller walk into a fast food restaurant near our school. I recalled the two of us looking in the establishment, watching in awe as the three players ordered their food and sat down to eat as we tried to muster the courage to go inside. Jeremiah finally went in to ask for their autographs as I nervously waited outside.

In the end, Jeremiah was unsuccessful in his attempt. He said to me that they told him they were eating lunch after a long practice and did not want to be bothered. He could have been disappointed, but instead, he talked about how cool it was that they talked to him, even if his request was shot down.

So, with the NFL playoffs in full swing and the Pro Bowl set for a few weeks time it's been great to fondly look back on my Pro Bowl memories.